This invention relates generally to contact lens cases and more particularly to a novel contact lens case that is designed to provide an ultra-compact storage space for contact lenses and that can be connected to a key ring.
People who use contact lenses, whether of the rigid or soft variety, always need a contact lens case available to store their lenses when not in use. The reasons for the need to store lenses vary; unexpected overnight stays away from home; travel; activities where there is a need or likelihood for frequent contact lens removal and replacement; extended wear due to long office hours. The lens storage container must be able to hold contact lens solution and have a water-tight seal to prevent the loss of solution and to prevent outside contaminants from entering the case.
It is not uncommon for a contact lens wearer to get a foreign object in their eye, such as an eyelash or dirt particle, that causes irritation to the eye. In such cases, the contact lens must be immediately removed from the eye and cleaned, and then re-inserted into the eye or stored in a saline solution. If this type of situation occurs, and a contact case is not available, the contact wearer must find an alternative container in which to place the contact lens, such as a glass of water. While contact lens storage devices are relatively small and transportable, they are usually forgotten until an irritation emergency arises. The prior art contact storage devices do not provide a simple and effective way to ensure that a contact lens storage case will always be available when needed.
The present invention comprises a novel contact lense case that provides an ultra-compact storage container for storing contact lenses that can be readily attached to a key ring and placed within the contact lens wearer""s pocket without being obtrusive. The contact lens case is designed so that it can be inexpensively molded out of a polymer such as polypropylene. The contact lens case includes two reservoirs that share a common circular bottom wall. The reservoirs are coaxially oriented and are threaded to accept cylindrical closure caps that seal the reservoirs from loss of fluid and the entry of contaminants. The cylindrical closure caps engage the opposite ends of the cylindrical body and have inner peripheral surfaces that are coaxially related to the outer peripheral surfaces of the two cylindrical reservoirs of the body.
The contact lens case further comprises a tab that extends tangentially outward from the central axis of the reservoirs. The tab includes an aperture that is adapted to accept a removable clip that allows for attachment of the contact lens case to a key ring. The coaxial orientation of the contact lens reservoirs reduces the overall size of the case by eliminating the flat rectangular platform used to mount the reservoirs in the typical lens storage devices. When the cylindrical closure caps fully engage their respective reservoir, the outer diameter of the contact lens case is no wider that the outer diameter of the caps. The overall configuration of the contact lens case creates an ultra-compact lens storage arrangement that allows the contact lens wearer to keep the case attached to their key ring so that the case is always available if the wearer desired to remove and store their lenses.
These and other aspects of this invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and are more fully described in the following specification.